It’s with deep regret that I inform you of my pending departure from Open School. On September 18th I will be transitioning to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Portland as their next CEO. This is truly a bittersweet moment for me as I was planning to work with Open School for a much longer period of time when I relocated to Portland (from Texas) 3 years ago. A big part of my reasoning for stepping into this particular opportunity is because I am an alum of the Clubs and they were pivotal to shaping my life during my formative years. So it’s a dream job for me to use the leadership skills I’ve acquired over 16 years in the non-profit space as a Black executive to contribute to the program that changed my life.
It breaks my heart to leave you all and our students because my love runs deep for the Open School community. This community has given much more to me than the work I put in to it. You all introduced me to In Lak’ech. You stretched me to lead through our Community Agreements. You challenged me to exercise shared decision making practices. You pushed me to be intentional about culture building. And most importantly, you always made me feel at home when I was in programming space connecting with students. I will always miss how you move as a team and community and will forever be thankful that I was afforded an opportunity to be shaped by you.
I am so proud of everything that our team has accomplished in my three years here. Some highlights include:
I am grateful to be able to remain in close collaboration with Open School through our innovative East County Campus Collaborative, which includes Open School, Boys and Girls Club, Latino Network, and New Avenues for Youth. I’m lucky to have Open School as a part of my life. I know Open’s next leader will continue to push for excellence for our kids. And I look forward to continuing to support this work as a partner, volunteer, and donor.
Warmly,
Terry Johnson